Warning – this unit was last revised in 2007

Unit 1: Legal responsibilities and moral obligations – Codes of Conduct.

Research Material:
The DSA ADI Code of Practice

Code Of Practice For Approved Driving Instructors
The DSA and the driving instruction industry place great emphasis on professional standards and business ethics. The code of practice has been agreed between DSA and the main bodies representing ADIs; it is a framework within which all instructors should operate.
The code leaflet can be obtained from any theory test and driving test centres. Your Driving Instructor should be able to obtain a leaflet for you. It is hoped that ALL Driving Instructors will formally agree to adhere to the terms of the Code.
Phone 0115 901 2618 for an information leaflet.

Personal Conduct
The instructor will at all times behave in a professional manner towards clients.
Clients will be treated with respect and consideration.
The instructor will try to avoid physical contact with a client except in an emergency or in the normal course of greeting.
Whilst reserving the right to decide against giving tuition, the instructor will not act in any way which contravenes legislation on discrimination.

Business Dealings
The instructor will safeguard and account for any monies paid in advance by the client in respect of driving lessons, test fees or for any other purpose and will make the details available to the client on request.
The instructor on or before the first lesson should provide clients with a written copy of his/her terms of business to include:

• Legal identity of the school/instructor with full address and telephone number at which the instructor or his/her representative can be contacted.
• The price and duration of lessons.
• The price and conditions for use of a driving school car for the practical driving test.
• The terms under which cancellation by either party may take place.
• Procedure for complaints.

The instructor should check a client’s entitlement to drive the vehicle and his or her ability to read a number plate at the statutory distance on the first lesson. When presenting a client for the practical driving test the instructor should ensure that the client has all the necessary documentation to enable the client to take the test and that the vehicle is roadworthy.
Instructors will advise clients when to apply for their theory and practical driving tests, taking into account local waiting times and forecast of clients’ potential for achieving the driving test pass standard. The instructor will not cancel or re-arrange a driving test without the client’s agreement. In the event of the instructor’s decision to withhold the use of the school car for the driving test, sufficient notice should be given to the client to avoid loss of the DSA test fee.
The instructor should at all times, to the best of his or her ability, endeavour to teach the client correct driving skills according to DSA’s recommended syllabus.

Advertising
The advertising of driving tuition shall be honest; claims made shall be capable of verification and comply with codes of practice set down by the Advertising Standards Authority.
Advertising that refers to clients’ pass rates should not be open to misinterpretation and the basis on which the calculation is made should be made clear.

Conciliation
Complaints by clients should be made in the first instance to the driving instructor/driving school/ contractor following the complaints procedure issued.
Failing agreement or settlement of a dispute, reference may be made to the DSA’s Registrar of Approved Driving Instructors who will consider the matter and advise accordingly.
Should the Registrar not be able to settle the dispute he or she may set up a panel , with representatives from the ADI industry, to consider the matter further or advise that the matter should be referred to the courts or other statutory body to be determined.

Discussion Points:
Confidentiality (including who is paying for the training)
Terms and Conditions and how they can be enforced
Avoiding Physical Contact (and the glass partition)
Discrimination
The DSA’s Recommended syllabus
Advertising
Complaints and Conciliation
Dealing with different views (racism, sexism, religion etc)

Exercises:
Decide on terms and conditions which you would like your customers to adhere to. Write these in a form which should be clear, concise and workable.

These terms and conditions should cover:
Cancellations
Complaints procedures
Customer’s responsibilities with regards fitness to drive/illness

Research other instructor’s terms and conditions before trying to write up your own

Warning – this unit was last revised in 2007

Unit 2: From phone enquiry to professional introductions.

Research Material:
The DSA ADI Code of Practice
The Driving Instructor’s Handbook

From the moment you pick up the phone on an enquiry you are promoting your business, and your reputation. Be sure about what you need to find out, and what information you need to give. Find out about your customer’s requirements, and tailor what you do towards them, remember that this is not about you!

Discussion Points:
Information needed from the phone call:
Name
Address
Phone
Mobile
Licence
Experience

Where is the first pick up?
If not at home – find out why.

Punctuality
Meet them at their door (where possible)
Your ID and who you are
Confirming lesson duration and drop off point
Positive first impressions

Exercises:
Make up a sheet to be kept by the phone in which all relevant information can be recorded.
Your trainer will roleplay some phone calls, included the dreaded “how much for an hour?” call!
You will collect your trainer (in role as a customer) for a training session.

Warning – this unit was last revised in 2007

Unit 3: Eyesight Checks and Licences (Provisional and Foreign).

Research Material:
The Driving Instructor’s Handbook
www.direct.gov.uk licencing section

There may be many situations during your career when you are presented with difficult situations with regards to the legality of a customer. Identity, eyesight and licence checks are the simplest things to perform before anything else. Know whether your customer is legal to drive before you invalidate your insurance, and risk losing your ADI licence and therefore your income.

Discussion Points:
Eyesight Checks
Provisional Licence Checks – Including Endorsements
Foreign Licences and their legality
Making sure of who your customer is

Exercises:
With your trainer as a customer in role-play you will check their licence and eyesight

Warning – this unit was last revised in 2007

Unit 4: Learning Styles – Think, Research, Observe, Try.

Research Material:
The Driving Instructor’s Handbook – Chapter 8 Rote and Gestalt
Coaching for Performance

The Thinker (Reflectors):
Thinkers like to think things through. They often like to watch others doing an activity before trying it themselves.

The Researcher (Theorists):
The Researcher will want to understand the theory behind something before they have a go.

The Observer (Pragmatists):
The Observer wants to relate their learning to real life. They better understand a theory when they can see an example of it in practise.

The Tryer (Activists):
The tryer will prefer to get stuck in. They understand an activity by trying it out for themselves. They can often become impatient with theory. (And yes, we know that ‘tryer’ isn’t a real word!)

Discussion Points:
Learning by Repetition (Rote)
Learning by Understanding (Gestalt)
Understanding learning types
The Thinker (Reflectors)
The Researcher (Theorists)
The Observer (Pragmatists)
The Tryer (Activists)
Briefings, Demonstrations, Practise and Homework.
“What I hear – I forget, what I see – I remember, what I do – I understand.”
Pass on the Knowledge – in the way they will absorb it
Assist in developing the Skill – so that they are capable of it
Re-enforcing the Attitude – in a way that they will remember it
Can you teach the way they learn?

Exercises:
All learning will involve some aspect of both Rote and Gestalt learning, depending on the customer’s learning type.
Write a few notes on how you would approach the following subjects with each learning type (thinker, researcher, observer, tryer):
Clutch control
Signalling at roundabouts
Recognition and reaction to road signs and markings

Warning – this unit was last revised in 2007

Unit 5: Recapping previous experience with a new customer – course planning.

Research Material:
The Driving Instructor’s Handbook

Many customers will come to you with previous driving experience, and will tell you what they have done. Many will say they have never driven before, but there can be a huge difference between 2 customers who say they are at test standard – one may be giving their opinion, possibly based on an assumption that you only need 10 lessons before you go to test, another may be excellent, and is only changing instructors because their instructor has retired.

Recapping is crucial for lessons in real life and exam situations. Never let a customer drive in a busy area whatever they tell you! You should drive them to a safe area first. On an exam or check test, the first thing the examiner sees of your skills is your recap.

Some customers will tell you they have never driven before, but there will be a huge difference between the lad whose father is a police driver, and has spent the last year riding a moped, and the lad who has lived in London for most of his life, using public transport, and has never been in the front seat of a car.

This is a great opportunity to start to judge how you will approach their learning. Find out what they already know and move on from there.

Discussion Points:
Riding experience – cycles and motorbikes
Passenger experience
Crossover skills from job or study
Mechanical experience
Other areas from which to draw experience?
Teaching from the Known to the Unknown
How experience has shaped Knowledge (cognition)
How experience has shaped Skills (psychomotor)
How experience has shaped Attitude (affective)
Picking up on (and working to overcome) worries and fears

Exercises:
Your trainer will role-play 2 very different customers for you to assess.

Warning – this unit was last revised in 2007

Unit 6: Lesson Planning – Structure and Timings. ROMPS

Research Material:
The Driving Instructor’s Handbook

“Covers the planned and actual sequence of instruction/activity together with the appropriateness and effectiveness of teaching methods used taking due account of the difficulty/complexity of the content covered and progress of the pupil. Includes the allocation of time between training activities and methods used such as the distribution between theory and practice.” – From the examiner’s marking guidance (ADI1).

Each part of a lesson should follow a structure. Simply “driving around” is a waste of everyone’s time. This is an overview of the next 5 units.

None of the timings for these things should be strictly adhered to, but if big changes are made, or if things run over time on a regular basis there should be a reason for this – a change of plan, and this should be communicated clearly.

Compare these timings to how your trainer structured your part 2 training.

Discussion Points:
Recap – Previous lessons and experience relevant to the lesson
New subject – 1 Minute
Old subject – 3 Minutes, to include some discussion on problems encountered when previously covered

Objectives – SMART
1 Minute

Main Points – Depending on the lesson and previous experience
5 Minutes – Partly Trained – New Subject, talking through the most important aspects of the lesson
20 Minutes – Beginner, for example explaining all of the controls

Practise – Targeted and effective
15-45 minutes depending on subject.

Summary – Strengths and Weaknesses – Action Plan
5 Minutes

Warning – this unit was last revised in 2007

Unit 7: Lesson Planning – Recapping previous lessons

Research Material:
The Driving Instructor’s Handbook

Any recap should be interactive – involve your customer as much as possible, asking questions about their previous experiences, skills and knowledge. Ask them how they felt about things that happened to assess their attitude, try to summarise their strengths and weaknesses and make sure your customer is happy with your assessment.

With one of your own customers, you will already know what you have covered. Be as interactive as possible – this is not an exercise in telling them anything, but finding out and assessing. They may well have been proud of things they did, which you should build on, but they may have been dwelling on problems they had also, which you must help to overcome. This is also an ideal time to find out what they have done in between lessons – private practice, theory work, or simply thinking things through.

If you are covering a lesson for another instructor, or picking up with a new customer who has left a previous instructor you will need to ask more probing questions. Relate what you ask to the subject to be covered – so don’t worry about asking about roundabouts if the lesson to be covered is to be turning left or right (unless there is to be a roundabout on route – obviously!).

Bear in mind that with a new customer who has already had lessons, they may never have driven away from home before – establishing this early on can be a great help to you, and a relief to your customer.

Discussion Points:
Recap on previous lessons – targeting the discussion towards the subject ahead.

Recapping on previous experience – how skills and knowledge your customer has will be useful for the subject ahead.

Skills and Overlaps:
Mirrors and observations
Signalling?
Positioning safely and under control
Speed and gears (including clutch control)
Looking to ensure the next action is safe

Exercises:
Write a few notes on the skills necessary to recap before learning the following exercises:
Reversing (based on a customer who drives forwards to a competent standard)
Emergency Stop (based on a customer who drives competently)

Your trainer will role-play customers who have been passed to you by an instructor who is away for the lesson. You will recap their knowledge based on the lesson objective:
James – Mirrors and the Emergency Stop
David – Reverse Round a Corner
Jake – Working on mock test problems – signalling

Your trainer will role-play one of your own customer and you will deliver an interactive re-cap session.

Warning – this unit was last revised in 2007

Unit 8: Lesson Planning – Objectives – SMART

Research Material:
The Driving Instructor’s Handbook
Coaching for Performance – Chapter 7 – Goal Setting

Effective and inspiring goal setting can really help motivate customers. They also set good boundaries for you – meaning that you don’t try to achieve too much and find yourself falling short, or aiming too low and wasting time.

Discussion Points:
Specific – Clear definition of what the goal is

Measurable – How will achievement of the goal be defined?
Once a skill has been performed under guidance, prompting, or independently?

Agreed – This ensures that both parties are working towards a goal which they both feel is achievable. Your customer must feel they are a participant, and not just a passenger.

Realistic – The dangers of setting unrealistic goals.

Timed – Ensuring that goals are not open ended.

P.U.R.E.
Positively stated – negative goals will often have negative effects
Understood – this is needed before agreement can be gained
Relevant – putting current goals into the wider context of driving
Ethical – positively encouraging good attitudes

C.L.E.A.R.
Challenging – keep motivation high, but without being unrealistic
Legal – with reference to the Highway Code if necessary
Environmentally sound – with reference to eco-driving
Appropriate – fitting it to the customers experience and skills
Recorded – with reference to the track record

Exercises:
Write SMART, PURE and CLEAR objectives for the following lessons:
Controls Lesson – first lesson with a new customer who has never driven.
Turn in the Road Lesson – with a customer who can drive competently but has never manoeuvred
System of Control lesson – re-enforcing good use of the MSPSL system for a customer approaching test standard
You will role-play these objectives with your trainer.

Warning – this unit was last revised in 2007

Unit 9: Lesson Planning – Main Points

Research Material:
The Driving Instructor’s Handbook
The PST Sheets
Lesson Presenter

The Main Points of any lesson will be the items which are necessary to be covered before practice can begin. This can be hard to judge, but when prioritising what needs to be talked about remember that safety is the number one issue.

Discussion Points:
Bullet Points
Must Know – not ‘might need to’ know
Breaking down an action into its constituent parts
Practising this with a common skill
Creating a bank of ‘must know’ information for different skills

Exercises:
Write a bullet point list of main points to be covered in relation to the following subjects as if they are to attempted for the first time:
Meeting Situations
Reverse Parking
Progress and Hesitation
Pedestrian Crossings
You will role-play conveying these main points with your trainer.

Warning – this unit was last revised in 2007

Unit 10: Lesson Planning – Practise and Route Planning as seen by a novice driver

Research Material:
The Driving Instructor’s Handbook

Finding sensible places to carry out the teaching of different subjects can be hard. You will have found during the course of your part 2 training that finding a good place to practice the Turn in the Road, or reverse park for example can be hard.

Discussion Points:
Finding nursery routes

Understanding how routes fit in with what is already known

Avoiding problems outside the lesson plan

S.C.A.L.P.
Safe Convenient and Legal Places – to perform manoeuvres

Seeing things from the novice’s perspective

Exercises:
Using the area where you intend to work as an instructor, find areas and routes where you could implement the following as first lessons on the subject:
Moving off and stopping for the first time (bearing in mind that you may well be able to progress to turning left and right).

The Parallel Park

Meeting situations

Emergency stop

With your trainer you will drive these routes and risk assess them.